It is often desirable to transport water vehicles such as boats, personal watercraft and amphibious aircraft among different bodies of water by way of roads, or to withdraw such vehicles from the water, for instance, in anticipation of the water freezing. The transportation of water vehicles from land to water and vice versa is well known. Trailers which may be towed behind road vehicles to facilitate transportation with such water vehicles are also well known.
It is also known to transport other kinds of vehicles, such as land vehicles and aircraft, by road by loading them onto towable trailers. Small aircraft, for instance, may be towed on roads by placing them on trailers. Even land vehicles which may be perfectly capable of driving efficiently on roads may be loaded onto trailers and towed in order to, for instance, realize efficiencies in transportation or reduce vehicle wear and tear during transportation.
The ICON A5™ Amphibious Light Support Aircraft is designed and produced by ICON Aircraft. As an amphibious aircraft, the ICON A5 is configured to float on the water and to extend retractable wheels and roll on land. In order to protect the aircraft from weathering, it may be desirable to maintain the ICON A5 out of the water except during actual use, generally in an aircraft hanger, garage, or similar structure.
Traditional aircraft trailers for amphibious aircraft have been configured to be backed into water to allow the aircraft to float off and on the trailer. When the aircraft is to be taken off of the trailer on land to roll or rest on its own wheels, however, the aircraft may need to be physically lifted off of the trailer. The positioning of the wheels on the airframe of the ICON A5 may not be sufficiently wide to allow them to sit on the outside of the frame of the trailer, thereby constraining the wheels by the frame of the trailer itself. Moreover, the wheels on the ICON A5 may not deploy so low that they support the aircraft on the ground while the aircraft is positioned on the trailer even if the wheels were positioned outside of the frame of the trailer. Thus, because the aircraft wheels would not support the aircraft while the aircraft is on the trailer, and even if the wheels could support the aircraft, the wheels could not roll out of the frame, the aircraft may not be able to be placed on or removed from the trailer without additional equipment to, for instance, lift the aircraft off of the trailer.